Question 107·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The vaquita is a critically endangered porpoise found only in the northern Gulf of California.
- Scientists estimate that fewer than 20 vaquitas remain in the wild.
- The vaquita was first described by researchers in 1958.
- Illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba, a large fish also native to the area, is the primary threat to the vaquita’s survival.
The student wants to write the opening sentence for an environmental blog post that will raise awareness about the vaquita. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, start by underlining the task in the question stem (here, an opening sentence to raise awareness about the vaquita). Next, scan the notes and quickly decide which ideas are essential to that goal (identity of the subject, key facts about its situation, the main cause or consequence) and which are more minor details. Then evaluate each choice: eliminate any that (1) leave out one or more essential ideas, (2) focus on something other than the requested subject, or (3) add information not supported by the notes. Choose the sentence that accurately combines the most relevant key points into a clear, purpose-fitting statement.
Hints
Clarify the writing goal
Ask yourself: what should an opening sentence for an environmental blog do if it’s meant to raise awareness about the vaquita? Think about what readers need to know right away.
Sort the notes by importance
Look at the four notes and decide which pieces of information are most important for making readers care about the vaquita’s situation, and which are just extra background.
Match choices to the key ideas
Check each answer choice: which one includes several of the most important ideas from the notes (not just one or two) while staying focused on the vaquita itself?
Watch for missing or narrow information
Eliminate any option that leaves out either what the vaquita is, where it lives, how endangered it is, or what is threatening it, especially if it focuses mostly on something else.
Step-by-step Explanation
Focus on the task in the question stem
The question asks for an opening sentence for an environmental blog post that will raise awareness about the vaquita.
For this purpose, the sentence should:
- Clearly identify what the vaquita is.
- Indicate where it lives.
- Show why people should be concerned (how endangered it is and/or what threatens it).
- Use only information from the notes.
Identify the most important notes for this purpose
Look at the notes and decide which are most helpful for raising awareness:
- Note 1: The vaquita is a critically endangered porpoise found only in the northern Gulf of California.
- Note 2: Fewer than 20 vaquitas remain in the wild.
- Note 3: It was first described in 1958.
- Note 4: Illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba is the primary threat to its survival.
For an awareness-raising opening, the critical ideas are:
- What it is (a porpoise).
- Its unique, limited location.
- How severely endangered it is (critically endangered / fewer than 20 remain).
- The main threat (illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba).
The “first described in 1958” detail is accurate but less essential; it’s extra context, not the main awareness point.
Check which choices use enough key information accurately
Now compare each choice to the key ideas:
- One choice only talks about the tiny population and calls the species critically endangered, but never explains what the vaquita is, where it lives, or what threatens it.
- Another mentions when it was first described and where it lives, but says nothing about how endangered it is or the cause of the danger.
- A third focuses mainly on illegal gillnet fishing threatening many marine animals, and only briefly includes the vaquita without explaining what it is or how serious its situation is.
- One option manages to bring together what the vaquita is, where it lives, the illegal gillnet threat, and the very low remaining numbers (plus the 1958 detail) in a single sentence.
The best opening sentence for raising awareness will be that last type: it should combine multiple key points into one clear statement about the vaquita’s dire situation.
Select the sentence that best matches the goal
The only choice that clearly states that the vaquita is a porpoise, gives its very limited location (Mexico’s northern Gulf of California), describes the main threat (illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba), and conveys how few remain (no more than twenty), while still being accurate to the notes, is choice A:
The vaquita, first described in 1958, is a porpoise living only in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California, where illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba threatens its survival and researchers estimate that no more than twenty remain.
Therefore, A is the correct answer.